Your Food and You: Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)

Your Food and You: Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)

With this month being Nutrition Month, we decided to highlight the micronutrients that would help increase your energy from 9 to 5. We explored some B vitamins last month and will now continue our discussion with more B Vitamins as they play a vital role in metabolism and energy.

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) is a water soluble vitamin that has many protective benefits in the body. It is needed for normal growth and development through all stages of life. Vitamin B2 not only allows energy to be released from carbohydrates, but it also aids in the production of glycogen (storage form of carbohydrates) for later energy use. Vitamin B2 is also utilized in maintaining healthy eyes, skin, and the mucus membranes of the gastrointestinal tract and respiratory tract. It is also an essential vitamin that aids in the functioning of other B vitamins such as Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine).

Not getting enough? Deficiency is rare, but it is seen in severely malnourished individuals who aren’t getting enough in their diet, or people experiencing malabsorption through the intestinal tract. Symptoms may include: cracked lips, inflammation in the mouth and tongue, ulcers, cracking and sore throat, dry scaling skin, iron deficiency, and itchy watery eyes sensitive to light.

Who should consider a supplement?

People who aren’t consuming enough in their diet who eating highly processed foods

People who may have digestive disorders

If one requires a supplement, a general B complex is ideal.

Here’s our Fact Sheet below on how much you need, what that means in terms of food, and meal ideas to get vitamin B2 in your diet!

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